Chapter 34: The Wind Rises

4TH JAN 2023~ VERALUCTL

An Jie admitted that in order to avoid trouble, he had more or less taken on the passive role, whether it was in his plans or his actions. But that didn’t mean he had nothing to say, should they approach his doorstep. 

Zui She had helped him smuggle across some not-so-friendly metal toys, including the pocket gun he had given to Mo Cong. Even though he still had his suspicions about this old friend whom he had not seen for many years, he was already considering throwing those troublesome children over to him if the need ever arose. 

‘Even though he still had his suspicions’ – An Jie smiled in self-mockery. He had suspicions for everyone. 

He sank into the uncomfortable sofa. He didn’t know if it was his posture or if the conversation with Mo Cong had made him uneasy, but An Jie had a restless night.

It was as if gunshots sounded constantly by his ears, his field of vision stained with red; many people who had once looked at him with utter respect now lunged at him with red eyes… The ambush in the ‘villa’, An Jie thought in a daze.

Then it was a wide field of azaleas feverishly bursting into bloom, red like they had been smothered in paint, and that figure that forced itself into his vision, the small and suffocating attic… An Jie thought his chest must be pinned down by his arm in real life, otherwise why would he feel such a realistic sensation of being choked?

This claustrophobic feeling had accompanied him for the better half of his life. His freedom, trapped in that small attic for three whole years, more than a thousand days and nights – his psychiatrist had told him that it might be why he was so adamant with journeying all over the world, constantly searching for his next destination. 

Because he wanted freedom: absolute, unmediated freedom. Like how a child who was starved would never waste food. 

This was a dream… This was a dream…

Then the dream changed again. That face which he held onto for countless years appeared in front of him with that never-changing smile of his memories and those big eyes that curved into two crescent moons when she smiled – An Jie’s constant reminders to himself that this was just a dream suddenly stopped. He shook uncontrollably as he reached out to touch that face.

But her figure grew more and more distant, the smile in those eyes which looked at him slowly fading, replaced by slivers of sorrow. She said, “Yin Hu… What did you promise me, Yin Hu… What did you promise me…”

His peace of mind was suddenly broken by a gale-wind hurricane. An Jie felt like his heart was about to break open. He wanted to shout, but no sound came out. The sensation of suffocating grew stronger. Mu Lian’s face quickly disappeared. Another pair of eyes appeared in front of him – strange, grey-blue eyes. 

He couldn’t remember when he had seen such a pair of eyes, but an almost uncontrollable wave of malice surged up in his subconscious… along with the desire to kill.

Even though he couldn’t remember, he knew those eyes.

An Jie’s body jerked violently and he opened his eyes in a heavy sweat. Outside the window, a faint dawn had just broken. 

He moved his eyes towards the slightly open bedroom door and the slippers Mo Cong had placed at the end of the bed – he had promised Mu Lian to be a kind person, then live happily. She said, only those who were kind and those who tried their hardest to be kind would receive true happiness.

An Jie closed his eyes wearily. Yes, he had promised. 

The next day, Mo Cong packed his things and returned home early in the morning. Of course, he also did a number of superfluous acts, such as pouring a nice cup of water for An Jie on the tea table next to the sofa, placing a simple breakfast in the microwave to keep it warm, and writing a reminder that the meal existed for the owner of the house. And after harrassing said owner of the house for so long, his actions were even allowed…

An Jie had terrible habits. He hadn’t known this before but after living with him for so long, he realized that this person had little sense of regularity. He lived as he wished, ate when he was hungry, and slept when he was tired. 

Mo Cong even gingerly tidied up the room before looking at the person curled up on the sofa, a small smile of pleasure tugging unconsciously at the corners of his mouth as he turned to leave.

The moment he lightly closed the door, An Jie opened his eyes, glanced at the clock on the wall through hazy eyes, muttered, “Finally gone”, rolled over uncomfortably, and went back to sleep. He wasn’t a deep sleeper. Any sort of irregular noise could wake him up, not to mention the countless number of noises Mo Cong had made with what he had thought was a ‘light touch’.

Fine – at least he had a conscience.

When Mo Cong returned home, only Mo Yu was there. Mo Jin had gone to attend a private tutoring class her teacher had organized, leaving early and returning late with that little bag of hers. 

Mo Cong waved at the young girl, then started working on the fake ‘luggage’ he had brought back from the morning trip. As he worked, he chatted absentmindedly with Mo Yu. “Your sister has been working hard for the entire holidays; how come you don’t look so much like an honor student anymore?”

There was no reply. Mo Cong glanced up at Mo Yu. That one glance gave him the frights; she stared at him with those large eyes of hers, as if two dandelions had popped up on his head suddenly.

“Xiao Yu?”

“Ge, you left for so long, did you bring anything back?”

Mo Cong sputtered and glared at her. “Bring anything back? They didn’t sell anything. The last time we went to that, where was it again? Your sister brought back two shirts so seriously, telling me they were souvenirs, but didn’t she just get them from the zoo?” – Actually, he did have his eyes on a souvenir from the place he went to, but the souvenir he had his eyes on would never agree to be packed up…

““Oh,” Mo Yu slowly answered, then drawled, “Actually, clothes from the zoo are alright as well; they’re cheap and wearable. You really should have brought some back and said you got them somewhere far away. No-one would know, right?”

Mo Cong put down the things in his hands and frowned. “Xiao Yu, what are you trying to say?”

“I’m not trying to say anything. Ge…” Mo Yu bit her lips. “Where did you go?”

Mo Cong stood up, then sat on the sofa as he looked at his overly intuitive sister and whispered, “What happened?”

Mo Yu slowly pulled out a beautifully packaged black box and pushed it in front of Mo Cong. “It was sent to us. You weren’t here, and I thought it was from Li Biyun, so I opened it.” Her small hand lifted the lid. Mo Cong saw its contents and his pupils contracted– 

Inside the box was a dagger inside a pure black sheath. It looked like it had been whetted, its edges terribly sharp. Next to the dagger was a letterhead, faintly scented with sandalwood, a calligraphed character signed on top – Zhai.

The Old Gun Zhai.

Mo Cong looked up suddenly. “Does Xiao Jin know?”

Mo Yu shook her head.

Mo Cong let out a small breath. He collapsed onto the sofa and gazed at his sister who was looking at him with both curiosity and apprehension. He considered the issue – Old Gun Zhai’s meaning was clear, he couldn’t stay curled up forever. Taking a deep breath, Mo Cong cleared his throat. “Xiao Yu… I, probably did something wrong…”

Mo Yu stared at him with unblinking eyes.

Mo Cong said, “So I have to face it now, otherwise it might put you guys into even greater danger.” The young elder brother finally put down his hatred after both his parents had long since disappeared and faced his responsibilities. Even though he really was late.

He sighed. “After a while, I might have to go out frequently. If you can’t find me, you can go find An Jie-gege.” Since that person had his father’s things… he should be someone he could leave his sisters to.

Xiao Yu refused to reply. After a long while, she finally asked in a small voice, “Ge, are you… in danger?” Her eyes moved to that black dagger emanating an ominous aura. 

Mo Cong chuckled. “No.”

The young girl finally let out a breath. She seemed to have been bracing her heart for a long time, an indescribable fear in her caution. 

Black eyes blinked in the darkness, but they would never be willing to search for the light, like that poet who buried himself, readying for the end of his life. Everyone had their own method of surviving – in this world that looked so glorious, they all paid the same price in different ways. 

Mo Cong went and found Zhai Haidong with that black dagger. The two talked for an entire afternoon in a small Siheyuan. No one knew what they talked about. Their only audience was a single golden retriever. 

Xu Si’s corpse was found two weeks later in a gutter and became an unsolved case in the police records. 

Soon, those involved with the mafia got the information that Chancellor had bowed his head to Zhai Haidong, and the underground empire was stirred up once again. Chen Fugui realized with surprise that Old Gun Zhai had grown stronger in his old age; he stopped trying to wash clean his businesses in an attempt to pretend to be a company man, but instead came to hook up with him. The combination of the cunning and the sly formed without a question. The Chancellor walked between them with ease, sometimes light, sometimes dark.

An Jie knew that Zhai Haidong didn’t do all this just to establish his authority. Something must have posed a potential threat to the old lion. 

A figure flashed faintly through his mind, but he couldn’t quite catch it.

And just half a month after the start of school, the honor student of the graduating class, An Jie, was found by the trouble he so desperately wished to avoid. 

As soon as he got out of school, he saw people gathered in front of the school looking at an ostentatious Lamborghini. He was just about to walk around them when the car door opened and a young man with white gloves stepped out. He bowed in An Jie’s direction.

An Jie frowned and glanced around him. There were no other suspicious people around him. 

Then, another person stepped out of the car, stunning An Jie. 

He Jingming – Du Lang1.

God was a drama-loving fool. 

Author’s Notes: Let me take a breather – 

After this is them flirting in the midst of battle… alright, it’s actually just one-sided flirting from Mo Cong. Those who like Uncle He, you will soon realize that He Jingming is a psycho. 

1lit. Poison Wolf, if any of you have forgotten.